Persistent values between executions

I have some sets of values that I have stored in several tables in a mySQL database. These don't often change, but are referenced on every single page view. While each call is quick, as a gross the load on the server is too high. I would like to know if there is a way to have these sets of values remain persistent in the server's memory between calls from browsers, like environment variables, to reduce the back and forth calls to mySQL. As the data from the calls are almost always the same, it would seem easier this way. Any thoughts? Comments? RTFM suggestions? Mike